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The decision is made: the saddle is going in for servicing. The work is paid for, the courier is booked – and only once you start packing do the questions appear, the ones the order page does not answer. Take the stirrups off? Does it need a cover, or will a box do? And what exactly goes inside besides the saddle itself?
How the saddle is packed and described decides two things. The first is the condition it arrives in: flaps and knee blocks deform more easily in transit than they ever do in work. The second matters more – the service team works with whatever is in the parcel. If all that is inside is the saddle, with not a word of explanation, you will get exactly the service you paid for and nothing beyond it.
Below you will find what the service description does not cover: what to include, what to remove, how to pack the saddle and how to describe the problem so that it comes back done rather than sent back with a question.
- Order the service first, then pack. A service is bought like any other product, paid for online with no separate quotation, and you choose the delivery method in the basket.
- Into the parcel go the saddle and a completed service form describing the problem. Stirrups, leathers, girth, saddle pad and any underpads stay with you.
- The saddle must be clean. We accept equipment that is clean and free of mechanical damage beyond the scope of the service ordered.
- The description of the problem is part of the order, not an extra. Three sentences about what the horse is doing and since when decide where we start looking.
- A box, not just a bag. The saddle travels in a cover, inside a box, with the seat padded out and the flaps protected – and without strapping the panels together. Take four photos on your phone before you pack it.
- Most services are completed within 48 hours of the saddle arriving; the exception is parts replacement, which takes two to four weeks because we order the original components from the manufacturer. Transit time each way counts separately.
Contents
- Before you pack: order the service and choose how it travels
- What to include with the saddle
- How to pack a saddle, step by step
- How to describe the problem so we know where to look
- Courier or in person? Costs and what happens on the way
- How long it takes and what happens to the saddle on arrival
- The most common mistakes when sending a saddle
- Frequently asked questions
- Summary
Before you pack: order the service and choose how it travels
The order of things matters and it is easy to get it the wrong way round. A service works in the shop like any other product: you choose it, pay online, and only then prepare the equipment. There is no quotation stage by email and no waiting for an estimate – the price shown on the service is the price you pay.
Start with the full list under Equishop Service, then narrow down to Saddle service. You will find both the jobs customers come back for most often, such as the gullet width adjustment, and the work people talk about less: levelling panels, restitching a flap, or cleaning and conditioning the leather.
If you do not know what you need – which happens more often than you would think – call before ordering, or order a saddle assessment and leave the decision about the scope of work to us. If you want several services at once it is also better to call, because some jobs have to be done in a particular order and others rule each other out.
Two things are worth settling now, so you do not pack the saddle for nothing. First: we service Prestige Italia and Renaissance saddles – for other brands, call before you order anything. Second: a completed service form must always go into the parcel – for every service, without exception. A saddle without a form waits until we manage to reach you.
Finally, in the basket you choose how the saddle will travel, and only then do you see the total cost, because free delivery and returns do not apply to services – a saddle is a non-standard parcel and is priced separately.
A second-hand saddle: what we will do and what we will not
The simplest saddle to work on is one bought from us and serviced by us, because then we know its history: what width it is, when the panels were last corrected, what has been replaced. With a second-hand saddle that history usually does not exist, and that changes what we can responsibly do.
Work we carry out even when we do not know a saddle's past: gullet width adjustment, replacing the billets on a jumping or dressage saddle, and pin replacement. These are jobs on components whose condition is visible straight away.
Panel flocking is different. If someone has already been into the panels – and we have no way of knowing with what, or how many times – topping up the flocking becomes guesswork and we may decline it. In that case we start with an assessment and only once we have seen the saddle do we say what can be done and whether it is worth doing.
What to include with the saddle
The list is shorter than most people expect. We need the saddle, a document and some context – not the whole tack room.
- The service form – for every service, without exception. For work on the saddle this is the saddle correction form, and for a gullet width change there is also the gullet adjustment order form. You will also find both on the page of the service you are ordering, under the download button. Fill it in and put it in the parcel where it is visible as soon as the box is opened. Without the form we cannot start work, so leaving it out is the simplest way to cause a delay.
- The description of the problem – written on that same form. Order number, your name, and a few sentences about what is going on. How to word it is set out in the section on describing the problem.
- A phone number you actually answer. If anything in the order needs a decision, we call, and the saddle waits. No contact is the most common cause of delay.
The saddle must be clean
This is a condition of acceptance, not good practice. It does not mean polished for a show, but free of dried sweat, sand in the stitching and mud on the flaps – you cannot restitch or work on panels through dirt, and sand under a needle ruins leather. You will find care products under tack care, and if you have no time to do it, add cleaning and conditioning to the order as a separate service.
What not to include
Take off the stirrups and leathers, and leave the girth, saddle pad and underpad in the cupboard – none of the services need them and in the parcel they only dirty the saddle's leather. If you want us to see how the saddle works on the horse, a video of it in movement is far more use than extra kit in the box. There is one exception: anything fixed with velcro, knee blocks for instance – if the service concerns them, include exactly the ones you ride on.
How to pack a saddle, step by step
A saddle is heavy, awkwardly shaped and has two places that deform most easily: the flaps and the knee blocks. The whole trick is to stop the parcel letting them fold, while not squeezing the panels.
1. Take photos
Four shots: from above, from both sides, and the underside with the panels. A minute's work, and in any dispute with the courier it is your only evidence of the saddle's condition before it travelled.
2. Remove the stirrups and leathers
None of the services need them, and loose metal in a box with a saddle is the simplest way to scuff and dent the leather.
3. Pad out the seat and protect the flaps
Put a rolled towel or paper into the seat – the padding stops the middle collapsing under the weight of other parcels. Wrap the flaps and knee blocks softly, each one separately, and do not pull them together with a strap or tape. A flap folded for three days can stay that shape.
4. Put the saddle in a cover
A transport cover is the first layer – it protects the leather from rubbing against cardboard and from damp. If you do not have one, use a blanket or a thick towel, but do not wrap stretch film directly onto the leather: leather under film cannot breathe and after two days in transit it can go dull.
5. Choose a box, not a bag
The box should be a few centimetres larger than the saddle on every side so the padding fits. Fill the gaps with paper, bubble wrap or old towels – so the saddle does not move when the parcel is turned upside down. A courier bag, even a reinforced one, does not protect against impact.
6. Label the parcel and include the documents
Lay the completed service form on top, right under the flap of the box. Then tape the box along every edge.
What follows depends on the option you chose. If we arrange the shipment, you will get a courier label from us – print it and stick it on the top face of the box so it is fully visible and the tape does not run across the barcode. Nothing else needs writing. If you are sending the saddle yourself, generate a label with your own courier or write on the box by hand – either way you need the sender's details, the order number and the service address: ul. Oświęcimska 9, Ruda Śląska.
How to describe the problem so we know where to look
This is the most overlooked part of the whole parcel, and at the same time the one that most affects the outcome. The team works on a saddle it is seeing for the first time, without the horse and without the rider – and with no information it can only carry out the service ordered, not solve the problem.
You can download the saddle correction form from the page of the service you are ordering – it contains everything we need to identify the saddle and the job: contact details, return address, model, colour, size, the production number under the left flap, and a list of services to tick. Fill it in before you pack, because the production number is far easier to copy out while the saddle is in front of you rather than in a box.
The form, however, tells us what to do, not why. In the notes field – or, if your version of the form does not have one, by hand under the table of services – add what the horse is doing, since when, and what has changed recently: bodyweight, a return after time off, a different stirrup length. It also helps to know whether and when the saddle has been serviced before. One document in the parcel rather than two: loose notes get lost between unpacking and the workbench.
It is worth being honest about the limits of this service. We correct saddles; we do not diagnose horses. A single sign – stiffness, resistance to collection, uneven movement – may have an orthopaedic, dental or training cause, and no amount of work on the panels will resolve that. If the signs are getting worse, book a vet alongside the service. We set this out in more detail in our piece on how often to check saddle fit.
Courier or in person? Costs and what happens on the way
You can bring the saddle yourself or send it with a courier we arrange at our end. The choice appears in the basket and it is what determines the total cost.
Dropping it off in Ruda Śląska involves no transport cost and has a second advantage: when you hand the equipment over you can show us the problem in person. The courier option comes in two versions – one way, where you send it and we return the finished saddle, or both ways, if you would rather the shop organised the shipment from start to finish. The cost is shown as you choose, before you pay.
Whichever you choose, remember that transit time counts separately from working time at the service centre. If you have a competition coming up, add a few days for the journey each way and do not send the saddle in the last week before it.
There is also a reason not to look for shortcuts when servicing a Prestige Italia saddle, and it is a financial one. The manufacturer covers the tree with a lifetime warranty, but only on condition that any work on the structure is carried out by an authorised service centre. An adjustment by a saddler outside that network voids the warranty permanently, so saving on one job can cost many times more. Equishop runs an authorised Prestige Italia service point, and the team has close to thirty years of saddle fitting practice behind it – the full range of work is on the Equishop service page.
How long it takes and what happens to the saddle on arrival
Most services are completed within 48 hours of the saddle arriving. That covers the work we do in house: flocking corrections, gullet width changes, restitching, pin replacement, and leather cleaning and conditioning.
There is one exception to know about in advance: replacing saddle parts takes two to four weeks. Not because the work is long, but because we order the original components from the manufacturer and wait for delivery. If the job involves a new tree, panels or seat leather, plan it outside the competition season.
Once the parcel arrives we check the saddle's condition against the service ordered. If something does not add up – you ordered a flocking correction but the problem is a cracked tree – we call, rather than carrying out work that will not help. That is why the phone number in the parcel is not a formality. At the end it all goes on record, and a service history at an authorised centre raises a saddle's resale value.
The most common mistakes when sending a saddle
1. Sending the saddle with no description at all
A parcel with just a saddle in it is an order for one specific job and nothing more. The fix: four sentences on the form and a phone number.
2. Adding the saddle pad and girth "so they can see"
None of the services need them, and in transit they dirty the saddle's leather. The fix: leave them at the yard and describe the problem on the form.
3. Strapping the flaps together and sending it in a courier bag
Leather and flocking remember a shape faster than you would think, and a bag protects against rain, not impact. The fix: each flap wrapped separately without being pulled in, and a box with padding.
4. Sending the saddle a week before a competition
Transit time sits outside the service time, and parts replacement can take four weeks. The fix: plan servicing outside the competition season.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are most often asked on the phone before a saddle is sent.
Do I need a saddle fitter's visit before sending a saddle in?
No. You can send the saddle without a prior consultation – it is enough to describe the problem when you order. A saddle fitter's visit is needed when it is unclear whether the problem is the saddle itself or how it sits on one particular back. We explain how a visit differs from a service in our piece on what a saddle fitter does.
Should I include the stirrups and leathers?
No. Stirrups, leathers, girth, saddle pad and underpads stay with you. Metal components damage the saddle's leather in transit and none of the services need them. The exception is anything fixed with velcro, knee blocks for instance – if the service concerns them, include exactly the ones you ride on.
Does the saddle have to be clean?
Yes. We accept equipment that is clean and free of mechanical damage beyond the scope of the service ordered. It does not mean polished, but free of dried sweat, sand in the stitching and mud, because you cannot restitch or work on panels through dirt. You can add leather cleaning and conditioning to the order as a separate service.
What is the best thing to send a saddle in?
In a transport cover, inside a box a few centimetres larger on every side, with the seat padded out and the flaps protected. Fill the gaps with paper or bubble wrap so the saddle does not shift when the parcel is turned over. A courier bag on its own is not enough, and stretch film applied directly to the leather stops it breathing.
How long does saddle servicing take?
Most services are completed within 48 hours of the saddle arriving. The exception is parts replacement, which takes two to four weeks because we order the original components from the manufacturer. Transit time each way counts separately from working time.
How much does it cost to send a saddle in?
The cost depends on the option you choose – courier one way or both ways – and is shown in the basket before you pay. Free delivery and returns do not cover services, because a saddle is a non-standard parcel. If you drop it off in person in Ruda Śląska there is no transport cost.
What if I need several services at once?
Call before placing the order rather than adding several items to the basket. Some jobs have to be done in a particular order and others rule each other out. We will agree a combined scope, one deadline and one shipment.
Summary: how to send a saddle for servicing
Sending a saddle in for servicing comes down to three decisions and one parcel. The decision about the service, the decision about transport, and the decision about how much information you include. The first two take five minutes in the basket; the third decides whether the saddle comes back repaired or merely processed.
The things to remember:
- Into the parcel go the saddle and a completed service form with a description of the problem and a phone number – no stirrups, girth or saddle pad.
- The saddle travels clean, in a cover, inside a padded box, with the seat packed out and the flaps protected.
- Four sentences about what the horse is doing, since when and what has changed tell us where to start looking.
- Most services take 48 hours, parts replacement two to four weeks, and transit time is added separately.
If you are unsure which service to choose, or how to put into words what you feel under the saddle, call before ordering – we will agree the scope before you pack anything. You can also bring the saddle to our shop and service centre at ul. Oświęcimska 9 in Ruda Śląska and show us the problem in person. The full range of work we carry out is described in our piece on how saddle servicing works at Equishop, and the technical documentation for the saddles is published by the manufacturer on the Prestige Italia website.
